Yesterday we spent looking at some Rangers at Frankies. Some very beautiful boats. As with other things, cars, trucks, motorhomes there is the NADA book values for boats. It seems the asking prices for used Rangers is about 1.5 – 2 x more than NADA says. Is this normal or is there usually good room for dickering?
Just thought I would ask.
Thanks!
WS
Bambino,
It’s been my experience boat/motor/trailer values are hard to accurately obtain from any book. It’s more what the market is willing to pay plus there are a TON of variables with walleye boats that make it quite variable. For example, electronics (graphs/gps (10″ screens vs 5″, number of graphs (3 vs 1), minnkota terrova i-pilot vs maxxum, vantage vs endura, e/m mount (24v vs 36v), kicker motor (T8 vs anything else) body of water (large bodies of water tend to stress a boat more then small inland lakes or rivers), etc.
From that small list you can see there are a number of variables from boat to boat so it’s difficult for a evaluation company to include them all.
The best advice someone passed on to me once was get on-line, define a boat/motor/trailer & accessories package you want. Start searching the numerous boat sites. Create a spreadsheet and in no time you’ll have an idea what the market is willing to pay for the boat you are interested in. Another solid piece of advice that went with it was think about a dealer that you like working with. If you use your boat it’s only a matter of time before you’ll need their services.
Enjoy boat shopping, it has to be one of the greatest joys of life….
..continued – got tired of typing, sorry.
Then there’s all the obvious conditions I haven’t mentioned.
Some anglers take meticulous care of their boat, some pay others to care for it and some don’t touch it until somethings broken.
You want to operate your boat on the water and try every accessory (bilge, live well(s), lights, Oxygenator, Accessory switches, electronic trolling motors, graphs, stereo, kicker, etc) Bring a note pad along and make note of any shortcomings. You have too much on your mind to remember it.
Warranty should be considered, is it transferrable, how much remains, transfer fees, etc.
I’m sure there’s more to consider but that’s a few things I’ve picked up while buying a few new and used boats.
Kurt
You can also use roughly a 4k decline in value each year as a baseline. But, as the boat gets older, it will lose less value over time. I just spent 3 months shopping for a buddy and this was pretty consistent of the market right now.
619vs (add 2500 for 620)
New – 48k
09 – 43-45k
08 – 39-43k
07 – 35-38k
06 – 30-34k
05 – 25-29k
Options can make the difference as Kurt said. New Electronics can run you $2000 for one set-up so keep that in mind when comparing two similar boats.
Walleye Central Classifieds usually has a good selection of Ranger boats for sale from both dealers and private parties. At the very least you can get a good feel for market prices on Ranger boats.
All very good advice above and I second checking both walleye central and walleyes inc.’s classifieds and see what the market it bearing. It’s still a good time to buy used as there are folks that need to move them between now and winter.
Good luck and keep in mind the cost of accessories and grade/quality of batteries, chargers, etc…
-ted
Thank you all for the replies. You guys gave me a lot to think about!
WS
Just remember that most of the year old and current used boats at Frankie’s are Pro staff boats. Those guys generally turn a boat every year and for the most part all the bugs will be worked out of them. Easy way to know if they are Pro staff boats is there will be no sales tax. They will be consigned boats.
If you are looking for a near new boat it might work to wait until their new Pro Staff boats are on the way. After all nobody wants two payments!!
Good luck and enjoy your Ranger!!
Bank loans are based off of the books. A banker that is willing to go over that won’t be a banker very long unless he personally knows the person taking out the loan is absolutely golden, home equity is used or something value is borrowed against.
Think I am wrong, go trade in your boat-first thing they pull out are the books to give you “your boat value”, but some some reason those same books don’t come into play when they figure “their boat value”.
Some will argue with me, but the books are the pure reality of the morning after hangover. 
This might sound odd, but what I’ve concluded is this:
Boats are worth what they are selling for. Like getting ‘comps’ during the home buying process, the thing to do is check around to see what the model you are looking at is selling for. Check Muskies First, Walleye Central, and this link:
http://boat.jaxed.com/cgi-bin/boat.cgi?cat=boa&itm=ranger&fil=690
Check around to see how much your model is selling for and you’ll get a good idea of what it’s worth. Good Luck.
Quote:
Bank loans are based off of the books. A banker that is willing to go over that won’t be a banker very long unless he personally knows the person taking out the loan is absolutely golden, home equity is used or something value is borrowed against.
Think I am wrong, go trade in your boat-first thing they pull out are the books to give you “your boat value”, but some some reason those same books don’t come into play when they figure “their boat value”.
Some will argue with me, but the books are the pure reality of the morning after hangover.
Ah, after the banks tell you what your boat, motor, trailer are worth just start throwing out terms like “3-bank, lms, t8, tilt/trim, autopilot, gps”… Thats what I did, loan officer closed book and said “ok, what do you think its worth”…
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